The present invention relates to an image processing device including a plurality of image processing means each having a particular function.
A color image recording apparatus including image processing means having a plurality of functions is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2-67076. The functions assigned to the image processing means include shading correction, positional deviation correction, MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) correction, magnification change, gamma correction, color correction, UCR (Under Color Removal), and tonality processing. While two or more of such functions can be executed in combination, they are executed only in a preselected order, i.e., signals are transferred in a preselected order. Let this kind of control be referred to as sequential control. The problem with the sequential control is that it needs a complicated input system and a complicated output system and cannot deal with simultaneous requests each requiring a particular function. This is particularly true with a digital copier often combined with a facsimile apparatus or a printer in order to meet a variety of needs. In addition, functional limitations are not avoidable when the functions are complicated, when a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs occur at the same time, or when a plurality of functions are required at the same time.